Dye-sensitized photo-rechargeable battery (DSPB) harvests and stores dim light efficiently, realizing indoor-light-harvesting battery to operate IoT devices successfully without sun light.

New indoline dyes (RK‐1–4) were designed with a planar geometry and high molar extinction coefficient, which provided surprising power conversion efficiency (PCE) with a thin titanium dioxide film in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs). They had a difference in only alkyl chain length. Despite the same molecular structure, the performance of the respective DSCs varied significantly. Investigating the dye adsorption processes and charge transfer kinetics, the alkyl chain length was determined to affect the dye surface coverage as well as the recombination between the injected photoelectrons and the oxidized redox mediators. When applied to the DSCs as a light harvester, RK‐3 with the dodecyl group exhibited the best photocurrent density, consequently achieving the best PCE of 9.1% with a 1.8 μm active and 2.5 μm scattering layer because of the most favorable charge injection. However, when increasing the active layer thickness, overall device performance deteriorated and the charge collection and regeneration played major roles for determining the PCE. Therefore, RK‐2 featuring the highest surface coverage and moderate alkyl chain length obtained the highest PCEs of 8.8% and 7.9% with 3.5 and 5.1 μm active layers, respectively. These results present a promising perspective of organic dye design for thin film DSCs.

A vacancy‐ordered double perovskite, Cs2SnI6, has emerged as a promising lead‐free perovskite in the optoelectronic field. However, the charge transfer kinetics mediated by its surface state remains unclear. Here, the charge transfer mechanism of Cs2SnI6 is reported and the role of its surface state in the presence of a redox mediator is clarified. Specifically, charge transfer through the surface state of Cs2SnI6 and its subsequent surface state charging are demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry and Mott–Schottky measurements, respectively. Because it is expected that the surface state of Cs2SnI6 is capable of regenerating oxidized organic dyes, a Cs2SnI6‐based regenerator is developed for a dye‐sensitized solar cell composed of fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO)/dyed mesoporous TiO2/regenerator/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/FTO. As expected, the performance of the Cs2SnI6‐based regenerator is strongly dependent on the highest occupied molecular orbital of the dyes. Consequently, Cs2SnI6 shows efficient charge transfer with a thermodynamically favorable charge acceptor level, achieving a 79% enhancement in the photocurrent density (14.1 mA cm−2) compared with that of a conventional liquid electrolyte (7.9 mA cm−2). The results suggest that the surface state of Cs2SnI6 is the main charge transfer pathway in the presence of a redox mediator and should be considered in future designs of Cs2SnI6‐based devices.

Long-term stability of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and cathode–electrolyte interface (CEI) layers formed on anodes and cathodes is imperative to mitigate the interfacial degradation of electrodes and enhance the cycle life of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the SEI on the anode and CEI on the cathode are vulnerable to the reactive species of PF5 and HF produced by the decomposition and hydrolysis of the conventional LiPF6 electrolyte in a battery inevitably containing a trace amount of water. Here, we report a new class of cyclic carbonate-based electrolyte additives to preserve the integrity of SEI and CEI in LIBs. This new class of additives is designed and synthesized by an ecofriendly approach that involves fixing CO2 with functional epoxides bearing various reactive side chains. It was found that the cyclic carbonates of 3-(1-ethoxyethoxy)-1,2-propylene carbonate and 3-trimethoxysilylpropyloxy-1,2-propylene carbonate, possessing high capability for the stabilization of Lewis-acidic PF5, exhibit a capacity retention of 79.0% after 1000 cycles, which is superior to that of the pristine electrolyte of 54.7%. Moreover, TMSPC has HF-scavenging capability, which, along with PF5 stabilization, results in enhanced rate capability of commercial LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NCM622)/graphite full cells, posing a significant potential for high-energy-density LIBs with long cycle stability.

The planarity of an organic sensitizer is one of the most crucial factors for determining molar absorptivity and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells dramatically changed depending on the planarity of the donor, although all dyes exhibited similar extinction coefficients, electrochemical characteristics, as well as the amount of loaded dye. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of planar donor dyes was 3 times greater than that of twisted donor dyes because of more rapid ICT. In addition, RK-3 dye, characterized by additional donor groups on an indoline unit, exhibited broad light-harvesting ability with higher performance as compared to those observed for planar dyes with a single donor attached to the thin-film photoanode (1.8 μm transparent + 2.5 μm scattering film). The champion cell of RK-3 exhibited a PCE of 10.3% when the thickness of the active film increased to 3.5 μm, as well as when an antireflection layer was applied with an iodine-based electrolyte.